Shows That: Died Before Their Time, Never Got A Fair Shot, Or Were Ahead Of Their Time

[Princess Sparkle]

"Ahead of its time" probably isn't the right moniker, but I always wish Jack and Bobby on the WB had gotten a second season. The acting on the show was great, and if they would've dialed back Christine Lahti's character and focused on the two boys more, I think you would've had something really great. It might have done better on a different network though; I don't know how solid that premise was for the WB (though, I was a teenager when I watched it, but I think I was the only one).

[kassygreene]

I get that Christine Lahti is a terrific actress, but why oh why is she always so over the top?  Is she just only cast in such roles?

 

I did all right with this show until the mid-season break, when the showrunners decided to nuke Chicago in the future history.  At least they wrapped it up in the finale, which I did appreciate.

[Singingflutist]

The 4400. I wanted another season!

[mjmatx]

Brisco County! We actually talked about this one on our TV-pilot-themed podcast, Wings. Brisco County was insanely entertaining, and man, did it deserve more than Fox gave it.

[ganesh]

There could be an entire network of shows that deserved for than Fox gave it, and you'd have original programming for the next 5 years.

[Kel Varnsen]

Brisco County! We actually talked about this one on our TV-pilot-themed podcast, Wings. Brisco County was insanely entertaining, and man, did it deserve more than Fox gave it.

I loved that show when it came out when I was a kid. Although I watched it again probably 7-8 years ago on DVD and it didn't really hold up as well as I remembered. Not that it was bad, it was just super uneven (and this is from someone who loves Bruce Campbell). Some of the episodes were great, but others were so much more slow and boring. Looking back now I can see why they cancelled it and was surprised that it even got a full season. 

 

There could be an entire network of shows that deserved for than Fox gave it, and you'd have original programming for the next 5 years.

On the flip side you could also have a whole network's worth of shows that were total garbage but fox took a chance on, but then cancelled because nobody watched them anyways. 

[ganesh]

So they're a network with no identity or brand that doesn't know how to manage shows? Seems about right. 

[Wax Lion]

The thing about Fox is they've usually tried to brand themselves as edgy. There are a few years worth ignoring, like the time their new shows were all procedurals (with memorable names like Justice and Standoff) but there's a reason why Fox has so many shows people remember loving and then being frustrated when they were cancelled, they were memorable. Even if Fox mistreated it, I can't imagine Firefly at any other broadcast network (and, at the time, cable couldn't have afforded it). Keeping The X-Files on the air was a huge gamble at the time. Ratings were terrible for it and Brisco County but critics loved both shows. In the end Fox decided to gamble on Scully and Mulder, which really paid of... but it was a gamble at the time.  Fox gave Arrested Development three seasons at a time when critics were throwing their hands up in the air about trying to get people to watch a single-cam comedy.

 

In this day, I say they should own it. Do Wonderfalls, Action and Profit reunion shows and play up how they aired those shows even at the risk of audiences rejecting them (as many predicted and audiences did).

 

Better to be the network of The Wedding Belles than the network whose moment of "edgy" was Central Park West.

[junemeatcleaver]

Is the general public even aware of Wonderfalls, Profit or Action?  Why would Fox waste money on reunion shows that would get sub-CW numbers just to brag they put on shows that several dozen people loved and remember?

[ganesh]

Yeah, they green light shows that are risky, but they seem to bail on the shows early when they aren't ratings busters. 

[Raja]

Law And Order Los Angeles suffered mostly from the mothership not being allowed to go for Gunsmoke's record. Being not New York what was many held against it as they had changed cast members over the years. Even before the soft reboot through season one it was unmistakably Law & Order, only the setting was the sprawl of Los Angeles, given a different visual look for every episode instead of nominally a small part of Manhattan.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Is the general public even aware of Wonderfalls, Profit or Action?  Why would Fox waste money on reunion shows that would get sub-CW numbers just to brag they put on shows that several dozen people loved and remember?

 

I guess it depends on what you mean by the general public, since I know about both Wonderfalls and Profit, the latter of which I adored.

[NutMeg]

Forgive me if this has been mentioned before (I only read the last two pages of this thread) but one series that I still regret had not stayed on longer is The Borgias,  which was just excellent.

 

In comedy, I second previous mentions of Don't trust the B in apartment 23, which had a clever and bold feel to it that is often lacking in comedy shows.

[Guest]

Yeah, they green light shows that are risky, but they seem to bail on the shows early when they aren't ratings busters. 

 

But a lot of this happened when American Idol happened.  Woe be to the show that couldn't do the numbers of a show that Idol built the fanbase for, even if they never got that real estate to build an audience, and not when they could have Idol fill the schedule. 

 

It will be interesting to see if the last season of Idol will change how long they let new shows live.  But they will likely go for more variations of Empire at this point.

[ganesh]

I think it was happening long before Idol. It was probably most egregious while Idol was around, but it's always been there. 

[Hanahope]

I just want to say how much I miss Leverage, all the moreso when I watch The Librarians because its produced and written by the same people but is so inferior and as much as I love Christian Kane, there is no "Jake Stone" character, its just a watered-down, slightly smarter Elliot Spencer.  I just really liked the story lines Leverage had, especially the Robin Hood type stories that resonate so much today.  The plot lines and 'cons' were also a heck of a lot easier to understand that some of the plot-lines and 'tech' spouted on Scorpion which some people have compared Leverage to.  I just wish the show had gotten another season, and hope that maybe someday we'll get some two-hour TV movies.

[Trini]

Oh no, Scorpion should NOT be compared to Leverage. Scorpion runs on cartoon logic, and routinely resolves a ridiculous situation with an even more ridiculous situation. Leverage was way better from the few episodes I've seen of it.

[ganesh]

The Librarians actually had some really good episodes this season. It's a fun show when it remembers it's supposed to have fun.

[Chaos Theory]

Librarians is a fun show. I remember it taking time to warm up to Leverage as well. I would actually very much compare the feel of both shows. Yes once has magic and one does not but the general feel of the two shows it quite similar.

[spaceytraci1208]

I'm almost through the one and only season of Terriers on Netflix, and I wish I never started watching it. It's a great show, and now I'll just be frustrated that there's nothing further to come. Who knows, maybe Netflix will pick it up as one of their original series.

[AimingforYoko]

FX has earned a ton of goodwill from renewing low-rated, high-quality fare such as Fargo and The Americans, but there is still much bitterness for cancelling Terriers.

[Inquisitionist]

I don't think I was very aware of Terriers when it aired, but to the extent I was, the title certainly didn't help, as FX noted in its post-mortem:

 

After the show's third episode aired, Landgraf ordered a poll of 600 people who had never seen promos for "Terriers" and had never watched an episode. Many critics and TV writers, including this blog, have attributed the show's low performance to its title and FX's marketing campaign, which included outdoor ads that highlighted a mean dog more than it did the two stars of the show and may have confused people about what the show was really about. (There, in fact, was no mean dog on the show, but as creator Ted Griffin explained to the Los Angeles Times last week, he came up with the title because of the scrappy quality of the characters).

 

[Wax Lion]

I think today I wouldn't have checked out Terriers because that marketing campaign was so unclear and I don't have as much time to pick up new shows. Unless the glowing reviews came from day one, I probably would have missed it.

 

In FX's defense, cancelling Terriers was a decision that has shaped how the network moves forward. They're very focused on making poorly-rating but critically-buzzed shows work financially and some of it was about making sure a show wouldn't be the next Terriers. They may have gone too far in ordering a third season of Tyrant, tho.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I just want to say how much I miss Leverage, all the moreso when I watch The Librarians because its produced and written by the same people but is so inferior and as much as I love Christian Kane, there is no "Jake Stone" character, its just a watered-down, slightly smarter Elliot Spencer.  I just really liked the story lines Leverage had, especially the Robin Hood type stories that resonate so much today.  The plot lines and 'cons' were also a heck of a lot easier to understand that some of the plot-lines and 'tech' spouted on Scorpion which some people have compared Leverage to.  I just wish the show had gotten another season, and hope that maybe someday we'll get some two-hour TV movies.

 

For anyone who gets the ION Network, Leverage will be returning in syndication after the new year.

[Irlandesa]

I think today I wouldn't have checked out Terriers because that marketing campaign was so unclear and I don't have as much time to pick up new shows. Unless the glowing reviews came from day one, I probably would have missed it.

The show did get rave reviews from the beginning so you probably would check it out.  The rave reviews were the only reason I gave it a chance.  Unfortunately, unlike most who have seen it, the two episodes I did see did very little for me. I'm not sure why because it seems like the kind of show I should have loved but something didn't click for me.  Part of me wants to give it another shot and then there's the other part of me that that thinks I did give it a shot and there's so much out there that I'd like to sample that I haven't yet.  It's not like I checked out before things fell into place as the rave reviews were for the beginning.

[Jenniferbug]

Still reading through the thread, but had to chime in on so many of these- Firefly, Pushing Daisies, Kyle XY. I was heartbroken when Kyle XY was removed from Netflix as it was one of my go to rewatch shows. I may need to track down the DVDs of it.

 

Buy what brought me to search for this thread in the first place is The Unusuals. I love this show and thought I was the only person who remembered it. I think I'm probably one of about 3 people who own the DVD and I rewatch it every 6 months or so. I'm sad that they didn't get a chance to wrap up some storylines before the cancellation  (Delahoy's tumor, Banks turning 43, heck even Cole's wedding) but in some ways I'm glad it's only 10 episodes so it never got ruined or repetitive. I'm not sure why it didn't catch on as I thought the writing was clever and the cast was amazing. Maybe it was just too quirky. Either way, I love it and for me, it owns this list.

[Kromm]

I still mourn that Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 ended before the Beek had a reason to go to comic con and find out that he was still Dawson but Pacey was Peter Bishop now.  In my head, that was inevitable if the show went on long enough.  The jealous fit.  What could have been.

The good side of that is that if that showed hadn't ended prematurely then Jessica Jones would have been cast with someone who probably wouldn't have done as good a job.

Oh no, Scorpion should NOT be compared to Leverage. Scorpion runs on cartoon logic, and routinely resolves a ridiculous situation with an even more ridiculous situation. Leverage was way better from the few episodes I've seen of it.

Scorpion had exactly ONE good episode--it's pilot. They milked the hell out of that spectacular stunt with danging the cable out of the airplane and hooking it up to the car racing below. That was cartoonish, but so spectacular it was worth it. Since then it's just been cartoonish without the bigger level of spectacle (which would be too expensive). Plus the show is just Real Walter O'Brian's fantasy about himself, and thus it's hard to even laugh at it, because seen on that basis it's kind of pathetic. 

[dargosmydaddy]

 

Buy what brought me to search for this thread in the first place is The Unusuals. I love this show and thought I was the only person who remembered it. I think I'm probably one of about 3 people who own the DVD

I'm one of the other two! Love that show!

[Singingflutist]

I got an android box for Christmas so I have been watching a lot of movies/shows. I reacquainted myself with The mole because I loved it back in the day and I still love it. It is my favourite reality TV series ever.

[zxy556575]

Oh my god, The Mole! I had forgotten all about it but am totally going to rewatch the Anderson Cooper seasons now. Thanks for the reminder!

 

It had 5 seasons including one resurrection, though, so ABC did give it pretty good support.

[ShellSeeker]

I love Justified, I'm going to miss that show! But that's an example of one series that ran just the right amount of time.

 

I agree. I loved Justified so much, and I thought they ended it perfectly. I think they'd really taken the story and the characters as far as they could go, and had they continued, the quality would have declined. Not that I'd be complaining about watching Timothy Olyphant in anything, no matter how awful. But it was the right time to end it.

 

I saw Homefront mentioned on this thread. I loved that show so, so much, and was really sad when it got cancelled. American Gothic was so cool, creepy, and weird. In this day and age of things like American Horror Story, it probably would have stuck around for a lot longer. And I also really loved Journeyman, which aired a few years ago, and starred Kevin McKidd as a reporter who starts traveling through time. It had a Quantum Leap vibe, but I really liked it and was bummed that it only got a shortened first season. Kevin McKidd ended up on Grey's Anatomy, which I loathe, but good for him. And then there was Eyes, starring my TV boyfriend Tim Daly as a snarky, wise-ass private detective. It was so good, and really funny. ABC pulled the plug after only 4 or 5 episodes. Damn them.

[ganesh]

Journeyman and Flashforward, V even I think suffered from the Not-Lost effect. There was a huge move to "find the next Lost" when Lost ended, so a lot of these quirky type shows were picked up and canned when they didn't have 50 million viewers by episode 1. V could have gone on for a long time on a cable network like AMC. The other two I think would have only been 2-3 year shows. They weren't zomg best show eva great, but they were solidly watchable every week. 

[Inquisitionist]

I agree. I loved Justified so much, and I thought they ended it perfectly. I think they'd really taken the story and the characters as far as they could go, and had they continued, the quality would have declined. Not that I'd be complaining about watching Timothy Olyphant in anything, no matter how awful. But it was the right time to end it.

 

Do you watch The Grinder?  Olyphant had a hilarious guest-starring role in the two episodes that aired just before Christmas, and I think he'll be in tonight's episode as well.  There was a great Justified joke in his first scene (he plays a version of himself, ala Matt LeBlanc in Episodes).

[paulvdb]

I occasinally rewatch older shows when I have nothing to do and I just started rewatching Surviving Jack. It got only 8 episodes in 2014, but in my opionion it was better than most comedies that last multiple seasons.

[andromeda331]

Samantha Who, it only lasted two years and due to her medical problems in mist of the show.

But it was a still a funny show. Her parents were just as funny.

[Chaos Theory]

Now if you are saying shows that didn't get a fair shot, were ahead of their time/ or got screwed over my list will always be: (in no order). All of which lasted one or two years.

1: Firefly

2: Alien Nation

3: Higher Ground

Hell you can even see Higher ground stuff going on in ABC Fam ....oh sorry Freeform (I hate that name) new show about alchly teen (which I plan to watch; oh aka we need a group called "I am too old for this show".). Higher Ground was awesome and sooooo ahead of its time.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[MaryMitch]

Oh, "Alien Nation" - I forgot about that. It WAS good; maybe it was too expensive to produce.

[amaranta]

Samantha Who, it only lasted two years and due to her medical problems in mist of the show.

But it was a still a funny show. Her parents were just as funny.

 

I watched this a couple of years ago on Hulu, mostly because I saw Jean Smart was in the cast.  She and Kevin Dunn were great as the parents. Jennifer Esposito and Melissa McCarthy were also good as friends of the main character.  Nothing groundbreaking; just a fun, cute show.  

 

Smart won an Emmy for her role; Applegate was nominated both seasons.  And this was the first time I saw McCarthy in anything, having not yet seen The Gilmore Girls. 

 

It was a nice piece of fluffy entertainment, good for over the summer or the holiday hiatus.

 

As often as Firefly is mentioned I think I'm going to have to watch.  I grew to adore Adam Baldwin on Chuck, Gina Torres is one of Suits saving graces, and Fillion seems personable (haven't seen Castle.)  So maybe I'll add it to my watch list.

[Miss Dee]

Plus one here on Alien Nation. Now why can't someone reboot that?!

[Ms Blue Jay]

I really liked Ringer on the CW, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (as a good and 'evil' twin).  Mike Colter was one of the love interests.  Every single person on the show was so good-looking.  It was a sexy, glamourous soap opera.  I never even could get into Buffy but I admit I loved this one.

 

Also Cashmere Mafia.  So cool seeing Lucy Liu head a Sex and the City-like show.  The pilot was amaaaaaazing, I thought.  But it never was so great after that.  One of the four main women was a lesbian character, and they were all of varying ages.  Fashionable show.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Chaos Theory]

I thought Cashmere Mafia was fun. I think whoever wrote the show has no real idea of way they wanted to do with the ladies.

[ShellSeeker]

Another show I loved, but knew it wouldn't last even while it was on, was Reaper, which was on the CW. The premise was that a couple promised their firstborn child's soul to the devil in return for saving the husband's life. On the kid's 21st birthday, he becomes a reaper for Satan and has to track down souls that have escaped from hell. The absolute best part of that show was Ray Wise, who played Satan. He was hilarious, and perfect for that role. When the CW advertised the show around Halloween, they had a promo with Ray Wise waltzing around holding a jack-o-lantern, to the tune of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." It was hilarious.

[kathyk24]

I miss Reaper so much I'd even be satified with TVmovies at this point. I loved Sam and I got hooked on the show because Christte Willis who I loved on Dead Like Me was cast. Bret Harrison is so talened I don't why he doesn't have a hit show.

[ganesh]

Reaper was a *fun* show. What really made it was that Sam wasn't 'hiding' his role as the reaper and wacky hijinks keeping his secret from everyone else. In the pilot, he told his friends exactly what was going on, and they actually helped him out. 

 

Plus, they played up the fanservice with the whole deal about whether Sam was actually Satan's son. And the ultimate duel with the devil: quarters. 

 

Based on the attitudes of the actors, I wouldn't be surprised if they were down for a tv movie. 

 

Bret Harrison is so talened I don't why he doesn't have a hit show.

 

I don't remember what it was called but before Reaper, BH had a show on FOX about a 20 something getting a new job and dealing with his wild brother, then there was In The Loop, where he played a 20 something working at an airline, with Mimi Rogers playing a cougar, and then after Reaper, he was on a really cool show with Christian Slater about a cyber security company. He's got great comedic timing, so I'm baffled as to why he hasn't had more work. 

Edited January 19, 2016 by ganesh

[kathyk24]

You are thinking of Breaking In with Christian Slater The first season was great then Fox canceled it then brought it back. The second season stunk because they changed the cast and downplayed the security jobs.

[Wax Lion]

Along those lines... has there been a show that was barely renewed and put through a bunch of changes for its second season and improved? As a general rule, that leads to disaster, can anyone think of a case where the show wasn't better off cancelled after one season?

[NutMeg]

I thought Cashmere Mafia was fun. I think whoever wrote the show has no real idea of way they wanted to do with the ladies.

Never saw it, will put it on the list of shows to binge-watch!) but Lipstick Jungle which I understand is of a similar vein, was fun too. I didn't watch all episodes, but the casting wasn't bad and the book is one of the the top two fron Candace Bshnell's, based one those I read (which doesn't mean much, as Sex and the City series was vastly superior to the book, for instance!)    

[Chaos Theory]

In the same vein as Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle is my personal favorite. GCB (Good Christian Bitches). Which was probably doomed from the start due to the name change and a lot of "Good Christians" getting pissed at the name and synopsis especially since it was a liberalish show. One of my favorite storylines was a woman married to a gay man. They were both completely aware of each other's cheating but had rules about when it was appropriate. They came off extremely sweet together.

If I remember correctly I think networks were trying to recreate the magic of Desperate Housewives and it never panned out.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[selkie]

Along those lines... has there been a show that was barely renewed and put through a bunch of changes for its second season and improved? As a general rule, that leads to disaster, can anyone think of a case where the show wasn't better off cancelled after one season?

 

The Facts of Life? They did a big cast pare down after the first season, added one additional character, and then went a seeming infinite number of seasons after that.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Along those lines... has there been a show that was barely renewed and put through a bunch of changes for its second season and improved? As a general rule, that leads to disaster, can anyone think of a case where the show wasn't better off cancelled after one season?

 

I think The Office and Parks and Recreation both did this.  Parks fans talk a lot of smack about Season 1, but I actually loved it.  The show changed dramatically after Season 1, and honestly, I still prefer the style of Season 1 over the later seasons of the show.  Season 2-3 were great though.  For The Office, they changed the cast somewhat dramatically by adding in all the writers to have actual characters, gave Steve Carell hair, made it less a rip-off of the original British version.

 

Did 30 Rock do this kind of?  I really liked Josh and Toofer in Season 1 and then I felt like I was really missing them later on.  I could never like the show the exact same after Season 1.  I tend to really like shows in their infancy.  Seinfeld definitely did this - the creators didn't even want a main female character in the show!  Maybe a lot the NBC sitcoms did this, I don't know.  New Girl and Mindy on Fox definitely retooled in some ways -- New Girl's Winston/Coach drama, and Mindy has gone through like 6 incarnations.

 

Never saw it, will put it on the list of shows to binge-watch!) but Lipstick Jungle which I understand is of a similar vein, was fun too. I didn't watch all episodes, but the casting wasn't bad and the book is one of the the top two fron Candace Bshnell's, based one those I read (which doesn't mean much, as Sex and the City series was vastly superior to the book, for instance!)

 

Nutmeg, just beware, Cashmere Mafia is only 7 episodes!  And I do think the first one was the best of it.  I actually love, (LOVE) the book Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell.  I also really loved Four Blondes and to a lesser extent Trading Up.  I could never get into Lipstick Jungle (the show or the book, so far).  I vastly, vastly preferred the cast of Cashmere Mafia - I loved all four women!  They were all so sexy with it still being a pretty diverse cast.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay